The California coast is — so far — free of Cesium-134, the radioactive isotope traveling across the Pacific from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. (Damian Gadal/Flickr)

Radiation in the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011 in Japan has yet to reach the California coast, scientists said Monday.

Researchers have detected miniscule amounts of the radioactive isotope cesium-134 in the ocean off Vancouver, Canada, as John Norton Smith, a senior research scientist at Canada’s Bedford Institute of Oceanography, said at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Hawaii. It’s at levels lower than naturally occurring radiation, like polonium-210, which is already in the ocean, he said.

Scientists are testing samples and using models to try to zero in on when it will reach the California coast — they say they expect it this spring — and how much there will be when it does, said Ken Buesseler, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

Researchers have also detected radioactive cesium-137 in the ocean. This is not a surprise, said Buesseler. It’s been around since the nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s and 1960s. With a half-life of 30 years, it’s going away, but still around in trace amounts.

‘It’s clearly not an environmental or human health radiological threat.’

One of the outstanding questions now is, how much cesium-134 — the stuff from Fukushima — will eventually make it to our coast?

The data collected by scientists at the Bedford Institute fits into two different models — one predicting that it could reach levels comparable to the levels of cesium-137 when weapons testing was still going on, the other that it would be closer to cesium-137 levels in the 1990s.

“It’s really a little hard to predict at this moment which model is correct, said Smith. Either outcome, he emphasizes, is not dangerous to humans because the levels are so low.

“It’s clearly not an environmental or human health radiological threat,” he said Monday.

Once it does start arriving researchers will know, said Buesseler. He’s organizing a citizen science project, in which volunteers all over the West Coast collect ocean water samples to test for radioactivity. Collection points in California include Point Reyes, Pacifica and Santa Cruz.

“It’s not here yet,” Buesseler said. “When we’re talking about the arrival of the plume — and, you know, I’m the first person to say radioactivity can be quite dangerous, we should be concerned — but maybe not at the levels we’re going to expect coming across from Japan.”

I would be very careful declaring everything safe. There has been little testing of sea biota, soil or crops since 2012, and TEPCO has woefully under reported the extend of weaponized isotopes released daily from the plant.Secondly, we are starting to see massive fish die off’s, as evidenced by a stunning 95% depletion in sea star populations ( very fragile strontium 90 sensitive creatures) 74% of the sardines are now gone, and Krill and herring also experiencing rapid population die off or depletion. I do like Molly. She is interesting and writes well. I hope she will look at the die off’s in sea biota to see the link other scientists are now seeing..

tnafam

human mutation is going to be so messed up in a couple of generations. It’s just nothing now. Nothing quickly becomes something. Have people seen the tumors in the fish that are being caught right now?

Carlos Coronel

After reading this article about how radiation will reach the Californian coast later in the years, I realized that radiation is dangerous to everyone if it reaches the coasts. This article explains that radiation levels in the ocean are increasing little by little. I am shocked that it has taken so long for the radiation to barely be reaching the coast of California. I am also worried because if radiation levels get to a certain point, it an cause harm to the people living here in California. It affect us by causing birth defects and a rise in cancer patients. Another way this affects us is by causing harm to the animals in the ocean. We sometimes eat those animals, so we would be consuming radiation as well. Overall I believe that something should be released to somehow absorb or repel away the radiation reaching the coasts.

Estrella Estrada

How Thomas Schoenberger said we do still have to be careful even though they have said it is “safe”. If you go to the sea , you see random fishes dead. Radiation is very harmful and i am very shocked on the way that they are saying that its supposibly “safe”. I dont believe it is safe because that radition can cause cancer and if the radiation is in the fish that we eat it can give that person eating it a type of health problem. We should be concernced of all the radiation in the sea! It still doesnt reach the California Coast but it will get there if they keep on saying that its”safe”. I think that any type of radiation is dangerous. Imagine all thise kids and families that go to the oceans for fun are not going to be able to continue doing so because it is dangerous with all the radiation things going on.Now just stay away from oceans and seas because we are never safe. They havent detected aome in the California coast but it will reach it. I am just in shock seeing that they are saying that its “safe”!

tre babauta

Honestly, I don’t trust the scientists in saying that RADIATION is safe. Ok, maybe it is, but what if it turns out to be harmful to humans? Thousands of people in California swim in the ocean a year. Saying that, I think the “scientists” should test the water before it even comes close to the coast, if it’s even possible. Radiation is still radiation, and knowing that there might be radiation in the ocean water- harmful or not- I don’t think I’ll be going in the ocean for a while now.

Alexis Rodriguez Salcedo

It’s good that they are monitoring the nuclear radiation. So people can know what’s going on. They should continue with the research. It’s bad that there’s radiation. It can affect our ecosystems near the coast. Scientists should find a way on preventing the spread of nuclear radiation. Hopefully the radiation isn’t strong enough to kill anybody. We should prevent things like this. Make the nuclear plants tsunami and earthquake proof. We have the technology for it. Instead of making better iPhones and tablets lets make our world a safer place to live.

Arelina Centeno

I would find it hard to believe that radiation in the water is not harmful. Although, I do believe that it’s been around since the testing of nuclear weapons. I mean look at all the damage it caused when nuclear weapons were used. What will happen if the Fukushima water hits our coast? Will it be deadly? Harmful, I would assume so but would death end up being one of the factors involved with this contaminated water? If large amounts of Cesium-137 were to hit our coast I wouldn’t even want to know how people would be affected by it. It’s more of an eye opening realization for me because I never really thought about something like this eventually hitting our coast cause everyone’s main concern is trying to deal with the drought we are currently in. I would like to assume the Fukushima radiation will eventually cause a threat, just by the name it sounds harmful. I would not say that it will not cause harm. For example if it arrives at California and it doesn’t cause harm soon what assures us that it won’t cause harm later on? And if the Fukushima radiation were to hit california how would we get ride of it?

Trevor Canepa

Why would they test these in the ocean? They are harming a food source for many people. Do they even test the water or fish or even the areas around the ocean? People live by the ocean and people go into the ocean and to the beach. Radiation can cause major health problems in many people and wild life potentially killing the whole ocean and turning it into a pool of radiation.

kevin doan

I agree that radiation is bad and can kill our ecosystem, but the sciencetist in Japan didn’t test chemicals in the ocean. There was a breakdown at the plant and huge amounts of chemicals spilled into the ocean. Radiation should not be messed with, for they have potential to change they way we live drastically and are able to kill our ecosystem very quickly. Radiation in the ocean puts our food source at a huge risk. The sciencetists say that the levels of radiation is really low and is not harmful. This has also happened in the past and everything seemed to be okay for the last 30 years. I think that we need to be careful and come up with a plan if this level of radiation really is dangerous. In order to help preserve nature we need precautions.

ceasar nguyen

I agree with Kevin, radiation is dangerous and it can destroy our ecosystem, but Japan wasn’t testing radioactive material. It was an unfortunate accident. This accident consist of 3 nuclear reactors malfunctioning due to the 15 Metre tsunami disabling the cooling and power supply, that came after the earthquake. All 3 cores largely melated In the first 3 days. Everyone is being affected by this, not just us. We need to come up with a plan more than just setting up test units across the ocean we need to act fast. Radiation is affecting our food source in the ocean, not only is this dangerous to us biologically, but its also dangerous to us economically. It might not be dangerous to Americans economically since we are not solely depended on fish to make money, but to Japan it is, because one of their major money makers is fishing. We were safe for 30 years from the nuclear testing that america did, but we always need to take precautions, ask the question that no one ask.We need to be quick and percise with a plan for this problem.

Tommy Cabral

Trevor, I feel the same way as you do. Except I feel that they had to test the bombs in the ocean so it is far away from harming us humans on the land. I however am somewhat worried. I remember hearing that the radiation would reach the California coast in a few years, but at the time I did not give it much thought. But now I have heard stories about how the radiation from Japan has effected fish in the sea in terrible ways. Is it possible that we could get effected by the nuclear radiation in the ocean? Maybe, maybe not. It is scary how the more we humans advance, the more at risk our environment becomes, because of possible incidents like these.

Richard Aquino

I agree on your statement on agreeing with Trevor. I also agree with you that we had to test the bombs in the ocean. Reason being is where else would we have tested it without harming anybody? In my opinion though I think the radiation isn’t going to cause any damage to us because it is so low. Yes it affected the people in Japan but that was in atime where the levels were high. So I feel as there is nothing to worry about. There is one thing that MIGHT be affected. That is the animals I’m the ocean. These animals could have been affected and mutated. This can cause weird substances in our food. Then us eating it could be affected. But all of these seems very unlikely. So Tommy I feel as if there is nothing to worry about.

lester lavaro

I think animals should die for our cause. Don’t you wanna live? Who cares about the fish? Let them die for us. Testing it on animals is a way for humans to live. I understand if you care for animals, but i don’t. Survival of the fittest. Why do you think we eat fish and animals?? TO LIVE. EXACTLY, TO LIVE. SO YOUR SAYING THAT DEATH IS GOOD? NO ITS NOT.

Thanh Tiffany

I agree with these statements listed above, it is true that radiation and other tests are harmful. But to improve this environment and to have more inventions, we just have to have tests and to prove if the chemicals would really hurt. That’s why I think there are some rights and wrongs about radiation. Either to help, but then it will harm.

Lisa Vu

I strongly agree on your opinion with this dilemma. Testing dangerous chemicals is very dangerous, especially to the sea animals. Even though it is not treacherous to us humans, it is very inconsiderate for humans to do so to the sea animals. I wonder why scientists think that that radiation from Fukushima to California wouldn’t be dangerous to our Pacific Ocean. Radiation is very dangerous to all living things in the world. Radiation is bad for our health. Radiation could possibly kill us. If it affects the California oceans, it could possible spread to other oceans and countries very quickly. Radiation is already a big problem in other countries, and radiation is already hurting the animals. If we just conclude that this Radiation spreading from Fukushima to California and not do anything about it, this problem will affect us badly.

Jacob Lout

It is crazy how radiation can travel through water. It is a good thing scientists have discovered this because this would have been very bad. Its weird to see that radiation still travels through water even though its been released in the 1950s. Radiation coming to the coast of California can be very bad. It can increase the amount of civilians to have cancer. Hopefully we can find a cure soon before radiation becomes everywhere. If radiation was released in Japan in 2011 that means it has the potential to be here for over the next few decades. Even though scientist say it is not hazardous, they still may be wrong. If so they would have to close a lot of beaches. It has already hit the coast of Canada and now its on its way here. This is just one more thing the United States of America have to look towards too.

Diana Custodio

After reading this article about how Fukushima radiation “It’s clearly not an environmental or human health radiological threat” how sure are they?! We shouldn’t be playing it off safe, waiting for something bad to happen. “It’s not ere yet” doesn’t mean they should act later. We should act now. Be aware of what could happen. Just because it’s not a surprise and that it’s been in the ocean for a while does not mean harm won’t be done. Have we not seen the harm that results with contact of any radiation? We can’t simply brush off the fact that large amounts of radiation will be in OUR water.

Joanna Vargas

What does this mean for the animals that are going through this right now in the coast? Shouldn’t researchers be trying to find a way to get this off the water. What type of accident happened to the Fukishima power plant for radiation to find itself in the ocean? If this type of radiation is in the water doesn’t it mean the fish and sea life is going to get affected? The way I see it is if people are going to capture these fish for our needs like restaurants, etc.. Won’t that be a hazardous issue? For example, we capture regular fish and someone that is already undergoing a specific treatment from a health issue, won’t it interfere with that persons health. Someone needs to do something about this when it comes. What about the type of levels coming in from Japan? Shouldnt we be worrying about this before when we know we can do something about this cause instead of watching it from the side just hoping it gets better. As a magnificent person once said “reality is always kinder than the stories we tell about it”. This means we should do something about this.

Leo Bautista

I am not suprised that there is radiation in the ocean. There are a lot of accidents from power plants. I think the only ways to prevent the ocean having radiation is to be more careful and not to have accidents at the power plants. I also think we should stop throwing trash into the ocean because that can possible also have radiation. If we all agree to do this, we wouldn’t have to be concerned about the radiation in the ocean. Luckily, the radiation in the ocean is at a low level. Scientist say it is not harmful to humans but I think we should still be worried. What if the radiation was at a high level? A lot of people could be harmed by this. I still believe that we can be harmed by this even though the scientists said we can’t. If fishes are dying because of this, then we can be affected too. All in all, I think it’s a good thing that we are aware of this and I think we should prevent radiation in the ocean.

Izabella Zamora

Radiationin the coast will decrease the amount of marine life. This means that fish and humans who capture them will most likely be affected by the radiation. Right now you sai it isn’t health threatining, but later on it could be quite dangerous if near the coast. Would sea food be a bad idea after reading this article? What has japan been doing since this happened? Is there anything people can do to help or warn others about? What i dont know was that there is still radiation from nuclear weapons testsin the 1950’s and 60’s. Since the levels are low, can they still harm marine life? If so what percentage will it probably kill? Hopefully the radiation will not harm kids or anyone who are in or around the coast. I am worried that that if fish had absorbed it and are being sold in markets, people will consume the radiation. Is there any cure if this happens?

Viridiana Vargas

In this article, it informs us about radiation being on its way to California. This was caused by the Fukushima nuclear plant accident in 2011. Since the radiation is expected to hit California this spring, I think that scientists should really make sure that the radiation threat is low like they said it was. I don’t believe that it can’t be harmful. Radiation can be very dangerous and can hurt people and cause cancer. I agree that radioactivity is something people should be concerned of because it can be really dangerous if it does hit California. This can in danger people living here in California, this is something I’m worried of. I think it’s a good idea that a lot of people are going to volunteer in collecting ocean water samples from the whole West Coast to test them for radioactivity. It’s a good idea to make sure everything is tested out, just to be safe.

Jailen Sainez

Although they say that this radiation in the ocean may not be a threat to humans or the environment, they never really know until they’ve tested everything thoroughly. Obviously when people hear radiation, they assume it’s bad. In the article it states that this has been around for quite sometime, but why is it that now they are worrying about it ? Why all of a sudden do they want to test it and find out if it’s really harmful ? They say they except more of it to come from japan, but that doesn’t mean that they should literally just be there and wait. They should keep testing. I agree with Carlos that the animals will be harmed as well as us the human beings. We regularly eat those creatures in the ocean. It makes me kind of disappointed to see that scientist are saying that it’s un harmful. Scientists tend to always be a large group of people who are most of the time correct. If they are saying that it’s un harmful for now then okay people should keep calm, but be careful. Soon they’ll find how to make this safer and how they’ll avoid all this radiation to harm people. I am also shocked because of the fact that the radiation has been there for a while now, and now that people know that it’s there they are now freaking out when this whole time everybody was fine not knowing what was happening.

Amber Hernandez

I find the situation as a critical issue that needs to be addressed as reasoning that the radio cesium in the ocean can affect us in a way that it can possibly become human mutation that we will clearly be at risk if no one puts a stop to what needs to be addressed by the people of the society. What caught my attention most about the article was on how to be able to detect what’s happening the scientist are looking at it by using some samples of chemicals that will see what’s the issue.. From my perspective, overall, u believe that there will be human mutation if the scientist don’t begin to do something about it to help the problem.

Rogelio Tovar

After reading this article I think that it’s good that we are keeping track of the radiation because it can harm us in many ways so I think we should more carefull with the world because is the only place we going have a bad world for the younger people so I think we should careful with your actions we should try to clean up for the sake of nature and make the world a nice place to live so there can happiness

jose casas

I agree with Thomas I am not so sure its a good idea to just declare it safe. Like Thomas says we are seeing a massive a amount of fish & other sea creatures die off. How are we being told that its not going to be a big problem when, and its only a matter of when these radioactive chemicals reach our coast. Thousands of people swim in the west coast ocean daily. I don’t wanna see 40 years later a news article on how are scientist were wrong about the radiation affecting the human race or our precious environment. The truth is we have lost all the respect that we used to give our ocean. We are dumping are trash and God only knows what these higher corporations dump into the ocean. We are treating the ocean like our international dump. The ocean supplies us us with food. The mistreatment of the ocean will come back to haunt us. We are reaching a point of no return. I wonder what are we going to do when we destroy all of our oceans and forest.

Hannah Nicholette Lopez

With radiation you can never be to sure on how it’ll play out. It’s not a big shock to me that there is possible traces of radiation in the ocean. It’s happened before, it’ll probably continue to happen if we aren’t careful. “It’s clearly not an environmental or human health radiological threat,” Said Smith. But if we dust it off as a small problem, it’ll eventually lead to a bigger problem. Just because it’s traveled a long ways, does not mean we get to stop worrying. Radiation can not only can cause cancer, but it’s takes a big affect on marine life. The ocean is there home and if we don’t take care of it there will be no marine life for our future population. That’s pretty sad. I think that as long as we’re taking care of it and testing samples off the coast, it won’t affect us that much. For future references, is there any way to prevent radiation?

jarrad pagan

Just reading the title “Fukushima Radiation on its way to California”,got me a little scared but not that worried about it.because scientists said the cesium from the radiation wont be a high amount.They predict that it will be a low level of radiation coming to California.But still radiation is radiation,if there is a good amount of radiation it can kill people.and since its in California and they said the radiation will be coming to santa cruz.Alot of family amd friends go to santa cruz, i hope the radiation is a low amount so it wont hurt anyone. But its too early to tell how much Cesium will come to our California beachs.

Allen Lagoc

I totally agree because radiation is a serious matter and,evidentially, dangerous to handle, even by the most skilled of workers. It’s not supprising to know that people are worrying about this issue since, like I said, radioactivity can have some pretty grusome side effects, and I’m not saying you’ll turn into the Hulk if were exposed to high levels of radiation. It’s not like we should get rid of radiation either because we need to know more about radiation, we want to know more about anything, basically, it’s a fact. I mean what kin of world would we be I’m if there were no nutritional facts on the back of your favorite snacks? Or if you rented a new car only to realize that it was broken by its old user? We need to know more about everything in order for us to advance our future generations in general, but I digress. Radioactivity is a serious and dangerous matter and sometimes even the most skillful hands wouldn’t be enough and with that, I’m shocked. It’s scary to know that even professionals make mistakes, even as wide scale as this. But what can you do, everyone makes mistakes.

eddie chavez

After reading this article I was very shocked because scientists said that radiation is “safe”, but its not. Radiation harms animals in the sea. It already reached California coast. If it to a certain level it can harm humans too. This radiation will decrease and be very harmful to humans health. But why do they worry about it now? They should of taken care of it by 1960’s. I find people volunteering very helpful to collect ocean water samples to see if it is really safe. Scientists also said that cesium from the radiation wont be the a high amount. But if they sell sea food in restraunts and has radiation, what will happend?

Justin David

There’s a lot of people who like to hangout at the beach.To do activities like swim in the ocean, water ski, and other activities that deal with the water. Now since that radiation in going to be in our beach water the people aren’t safe. Radiation can cause diseases, cancer, mutation, and even death. The citizens won’t know when the radiation hit the coast of Santa Cruz, Pacifica, and Point Reyes. Once it hits those coasts 100s of people will either die, mutate, diagnosed with a disease, and etc. Once it does hit all our California beaches will be shut down for testing and investigation. We just hope that the people will know when the radiation hits.

Alan Nguyen

I agree with you Justin, I feel the same way any other person would, it’s scary to think that you may be exposed to harmful chemicals you you don’t see it coming. Especially in our beaches because of our hot summers months. This chemical breakout poured into our oceans doesn’t just effect our people. It can also affect our food supply. Mostly all of the people eat seafood and the chemical that is pored into the ocean can infect our fishes and sea life. Many creatures from the sea may die from the chemical that has polluted our oceans. This breakout can change our ecosystem dramatically because of its harmful chemicals. Scientist are doing what they can to prevent the Fukushima radiation to spread through our oceans. I’m hoping that scientists will treat the oceans and clean up the mess before it causes bigger problems.

Berenice Leon

From what I have read, I understood that the radiation was coming from Japan towards the coast of California. As Smith says, it won’t be dangerous for humans because the numbers are so low. However, once someone hears about radiation, they assume it’s bad because it may cause cancer. On one hand, it’s good because we’re still safe but what if eventually the numbers begin to grow. That’s when it becomes dangerous. I agree with Amber because scientist shouldn’t put anyone or anything in risk with radiation. I think scientist should really investigate how to get it out the water or something more safe to prevent danger in the coast. Scientist should test it completely to make sure of everything. Also, it makes me wonder about the animals in the ocean. Will it affect them in any way? I believe animals are as important as humans. So why not try to safe them to.

To the fact that it claims that this radiation from Japan isn’t a severe threat, I’m not sure if everyone will believe that. Now, from myself- it’s a satisfaction knowing that it’s not such a dangerous threat. Although you can’t really trust the evidence collected from the radiation due to its low levels, maybe it will eventually change throughout some time. Like what some people have said in the comment section, yes, I too believe that majority of the people in California will freak out and assume the radiation will result into millions of children and adults getting dangerous diseases or infections; as well as nature being threatened.

I can’t honestly believe that the radiation is a severe threat or not, only until we see what the income is further on in the future. Who knows, not all evidence is clear or perfect. There can always be a case of change and misunderstanding.

Sashary manjarrez

I’m not surprised that there is radiation in the ocean, its not the first time and I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last time we here about this. What I’m concerned about is the fact that the scientists say that it isn’t a harm but yet radiation can harm animals in the ocean. Also, it can can cause problems for us humans. I’m glad that they’re saying the cesium of the radiation won’t be a high amount but regardless we should take precaution.

miguel valencia

Honestly i would be very careful of eating any seafood because this radiation from Fukushima can be absorbed my the sea life under the Ocean. This type of radiation can make the environment. The Pacific Ocean will never be the same because this can affect so many things. My solution is to stop having these nuclear plants next to the oceans to have it on habituated areas where their cant be anymore damage to the earth and the environment.

angelina mejia

The scientists are saying that the radiation isn’t harmful, so why are they making a big deal about testing the water?? It’s obvious that these scientists are just assuming that it’s not a threat. Also, if this happened awhile ago and this radiation is coming from Japan, why hasn’t it been taken care of? Why are they worried now? It would have been so much easier if Japan just “cleaned up” the mess they created. All this radiation is in the ocean it will affect the sea animals, their habitat and humans as well. Some people only eat sea food and a lot of sea food comes from that coast, so for them to say that it doesn’t effect the environment or humans are wrong. There are three types of people the ones that are paranoid, the ones that don’t care and the ones that aren’t informed. Tons of people will be affected and I feel like this article downplayed the effects too much.

Emiliano Floressaenz

I think that they should be carefull calling everything “safe”. It really makes me wonder what else is “safe”? If alot of marine life is dying due to the radiation in the ocean wich means less food for people that live by the ocean. Thousands of people swim in the ocean everyday and we all know that radiation can cause health problems so how is that safe?! I think that we’ve lost respect for the ocean. We dump our garbage in it and who knows what else the government puts in there. The ocean is 70% of the planet!! And were just doing more and more harm to it. If we keep it up were going to regret it later. I feel like the scientists who called it safe are gonna look real dumb when people start dying for eating fish sticks. Then again if the scientists were to have told everyone that ohh yes were all gonna die then everyone would have freaked out so maybe they just said that to prevent everyone from going crazy. I just believe that it is dangerous to be swimming in radioactive water.

Lorenz Gali

This is very interesting. I never knew there was a nuclear power plant accident in Japan and somehow it’s reached its way to the west coast? In three years too! I don’t think this is a threat considering researchers have suggested there is no problem, although you can’t be too sure. I just went to the beach 3 weeks ago and it was the way it has always been. Fresh, alive, and full of people. Radiation is something to take note of, but with levels that are significanly low, You don’t really have to contemplate on it. Although it can’t affect us, we have to think about the organisms living in the sea. Can some fish be affected by just a few percentages of radiation? This brings a new topic at mind. We can think about our own safety for now, but in time we have to care for others’ as well.

Guadalupe Ochoa

After reading this article, I am aware of two things. One: scientists are not sure how much of radiation there is. Two: they think it is not threatening to us. Well, how can they be so sure? What makes them think that just because the levels are so low, that it won’t affect us? These scientists need to be 100% sure that the Fukushima radiation does not affect us humans or animals. One of the scientists said,” …we should be concerned – but maybe not at the levels were going…” I believe we NEED to be concerned. I don’t think that this matter should just be brushed off like nothing. We must convince these scientists that they need to go more in dept with this radiation issue. Yeah, it’ll arrive until spring. In the meantime, what are we going to do about it? I think we should at least find out more information about this type of radiation.

Jackie Gz

Even though scientists are saying that the radiation levels are low and it won’t cause any health problems for humans, I think they’re wrong to say that it’s safe for the environment. Its probably safe for us humans but what about life under the ocean? Do they not care about that? Scientist are only focusing on getting ocean samples but I think they should focus on getting samples from the fish as well as other sea animals. It may not affect us, yet, but it’s proably already affecting them, and if it is it’s dangerous to us because we like sea food & what if some fish we’re eating have radiation & we get sick due to it. The article says that scientist are zeroing in on when the radiation will reach California coats, but I don’t think they should wait until it reaches the coast to do something, they should start doing something about it now. They should do something while the numbers are still low. Once they get high, the public will start to actually react to this and argue against why they waited for the radiation to hit our coast in order to do something. And once it does hit California, beaches and so will be closed down for investigation and we never know how long this will take. So they should act upon this now even if it’s not affecting us humans because I’m pretty sure it’s already affecting life under water. -Jackie zuniga

Francisco Mendoza

After i read this article I wasn’t just surprised but indeed i was shocked. I thought radiation was safe but it turns out to be very dangerous. It also says about how radiation is now heading our way(to California). It was caused by the Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011. Since scientist say that the water with radiation will hit this spring they should be able to do something to stop it. Especially since many people go to the beach to have fun and play in the water. If it hits and people that are playing in the water and the radiation touches then, it can cause diseases, mutation, cancer, & even death. At least now scientist say that the cesium will not be at a high level but still they should do something to try to remove nuclear plants by the ocean so it does not happen again.

Jonathan Loera

What I just read, it’s crazy how scientists could discover about the effect of the nuclear weapons over 30 years but the good part is that it’s bin clearing the damage for the pass years. The radiation is low how the scientist said but it’s not really affecting the level of radiation and each year is affecting less and less radiation

Alex Eskwivels

The title freaked me out, but as I read “It’s at levels lower than naturally occurring radiation, like polonium-210, which is already in the ocean” I thought maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. Still, I don’t think radiation should ever be seen as a small problem , I believe scientist should still try their best to do anything they can to fix it.

Kayla Lopez

From what I just read it seems that this problem had accurd before. “It’s not here yet”, said Ken Buesseler. But they should handle this situation fast because who knows what the radiation could do. It could possible harm the ocean environment. As of right now they should warn more people about this because people enjoy going to the ocean, to swim or even go fishing. That’s very dangerous because it can also harm them too.

Perla De La Cruz

When you see the word radiation, most people automatically think that it’s something harmful. Radiation in the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011 in Japan is about to hit the California coast. Scientists have been taking samples of the water to try to see what exactly will reach the California coast in the spring. They have detected radioactive cesium-137 in the ocean that has been there since the 1950s and the 1960s. Is all of this radiation in the ocean any potential harm for humans? Although it might not seem any harm at the moment, I’m afraid that things can change and it can it can potentially be harmful to humans. I think that scientists should try to get this out of the water before it really becomes a danger to humans.

guramrit virk

I believe that the people that tested the bombs are wrong for what they did. They are putting both humans and sea creatures at risk. They didn’t think of the consequences of their actions otherwise they wouldn’t have tested their nuclear weapons in the ocean. Even though the radiation levels aren’t high enough to harm humans, It was still wrong. Humans already struggle to get food, and they didn’t help the cause by harming a large food source. Some people depend on the ocean for their food source. It is like taking away peoples only means of getting food. It also may not be high enough to harm humans now but if people keep testing nuclear weapons in the ocean the levels will certainly grow to a higher level that can harm us

Matthew A.

I was a bit calmed when I learned that the radiation would not affect humans, but I got to thinking that it can indirectly affect us. Although the radiation will not affect us, it may affect the marine animals life. The radiation can be dangerous to the fish. It can probably cause mutations or even kill them. If it were to kill the fish, it would be affecting our food. If the fish die, we will have less fish and the price will rise. Also, I don’t feel comfortable knowing that my food was swimming through chemicals. Also, this may affect the fishes lives. The radiation could mutate the fish and change the way the live. Who knows, the radiation could probably prevent repopulation of the fish. If they don’t, they can become extinct. I hope we can figure out a way to at least figure out a way to reduce the radiation levels comming to california.

Thanh Tiffany

I agree with Matthew!!!

Thanh Tiffany

It is true that radiation and chemicals are bad and harmful for the ocean. Why would the scientists want to pour those substances into the ocean? To kill sea creatures and make the ocean become violated with chemicals? If it is so then I disagree and is against with Japanese scientists to test out the ocean that way. In my perspectives, and even for the citizen there, they wouldn’t want their ocean to become filled with harmful chemicals, so I strongly hope scientists wouldn’t do that to any ocean. Radiation could occur and creates viruses that would make people sick just by smelling it in. In my opinion, I think scientists should just test out the ocean with electronic radiators instead of just pour unhealthy substances and bad chemicals straight into the ocean. That way, no one or no sea creatures will ever be harmed. Every living things around that area will always be healthy. I believe that it’s not necessary for scientists to test out the ocean that way with such chemicals, if they can just wait a few years until more modern and advanced devices that have been created to test out the ocean without harming anything, or even chemicals free devices, it can happen.

Kenny Lazaro

Even though there are only trace amounts of radiation in the ocean, it isn’t safe to say that it won’t effect us. For people that stay in the ocean for a long time, it could most likely effect them. There are a lot of people who do activities in the ocean. I also believe that the radiation could effect the amount of fish in the area. Fishes could start to die off. Also, the fish we eat might have some radiation in them. This could possibly pose a threat to us. Small populations in the ocean could also be effected. It might kill off small populations. This could maybe lead to larger populations to become extinct. This could indirectly pose a threat to us. The radiation in the ocean could potentially be dangerous to us.

Joanne Nguyen

To my opinion, if this Fukushima radiation is poses no threat to just right now, we shouldn’t be so concerned about it. It might seem dangerous but with its not strong enough to harm all of us. Scientists are doing their best to sample and research these things to keep us safe. It would be terrible if this radiation did hit us though. It would really effect our population and our normal way of life because we as Americans really like to do outdoor activities and hang out at the beach and stuff. But once this hits us, people would really want to avoid beaches along California. Just like how the researcher, Buesseluer said, “It’s not here yet”, so we shouldn’t worry about it. Although the water in the ocean right now does not seem one percent clean either due to pollutions and other things that have entered our water. Having our oceans clean is crucial because it’s apart of our nature and a lot of our food sources comes from the ocean. I really hope that nothing harms our oceans more so we can preserve and enjoy our waters.

Felicia Lopez

If the levels of radiation came all the way from japan would it reach us? In this article they say it will not be harmful to humans. How are they so sure? Maybe by the time it reaches us it will be all spread out so the levels wont be as high. Is the radiation harmful to the fish and creatures in the oceans? If so what are they gonna do about it? When we go to the beach we shouldnt have to be worrying about the chemicals. Its the ocean it should be okay to swim in. Especially if this radiation can kill living things in the ocean. We need to figure out if it harmful to humans & animals in the ocean. We should be okay because nothing has happend yet. If it was harmful something drastic would of happend by now.

jonathan marcos

This information scares me because a lot of people hang around beaches and might possibly get affected since they dont know if its harmful or not yet. In a scenario like this, they should temporarily close down beaches and etc, just until they 100 percent know that it is safe for humans. I understand the nuclear testing in the ocean was to be able to test without harming anyone, but this time a lot of people won’t realize what they will be swimming in. If a young child or baby comes in contact with this, they might grow up with defects or their life span may shorten. Even if it isn’t strong enough to affect humans, imagine what it would do to animal life. A certain fish or endangered species might become extinct. If it contaminates fish and people eat the fish, then it’ll start randomly affecting people randomly across the world. I will probably avoid going to the beach for now. I might be overreacting, but when it comes to the possibility of my life getting affected; I take it very seriously. I’m glad they’re testing the water just to make sure, but i’m still upset that they are arguing if it’s safe or not. Why don’t one of them just confirm it already and announce to the public if it’s safe enough? Thanks for the informative article, I hope more people read this so families and others will be aware of the possible dangers.

Daniel Ibanez

The scientists quoted by Molly say there’s no threat on this situation. The more radiation that builds up over time is going to have a higher threat to human health and a higher contamination spread, although the amounts of radiation flowing to the coast from Fukushima aren’t a threat to human health or being around this amount, there will be a point over time where the amount starts to build up. I agree with Justin, a lot of people hang out, live, and work around the beach or coast, how long should we wait until the radiation actually becomes a threat? Also as Thomas stated a lot of percentages of differences in oceanic life, we should definitely be careful with how safe we think certain threats are. A lot of food straight from the ocean is consumed a long the coast, although small amounts of radiation is In the water, it could still contaminate the fish in the water.

Lizette Rivas

From the article i understood that radiation from Japan will sooner or later affect California’s beaches. Scientist have found radioactive isotopes cesium in Canada. People are worried of when this cesium stuff from Fukushima will come to our coast. Scientist are trying to find ways to “zero it ” when it starts getting to the coast. Which mean that they will try to remove any cesium from Californian oceans. But still they are saying that it has no threat to us. My questions is if it isn’t harmful then why are they trying to prevent it. As well as doing research on it to zero it. One scientist states that cesium has been in the ocean since 1950’s -1960’s because of the nuclear weapon test. The west coast test ocean water for radioactivity. Buesseler a scientist said that its is not yet in California oceans. He says he is might be the only one thats says that radioactivity is dangerous.

Thanh Tiffany

Based on I’ve read, I felt really relieved when the article claimed that Japan’s radiation would not effect us humans. But then I thought of the fishes out there in the ocean, it might not effect me but it will effect the fishes. disagree and is against with Japanese scientists to test out the ocean that way. In my perspectives, and even for the citizen there, they wouldn’t want their fishs to become filled with harmful chemicals, so I strongly hope scientists wouldn’t test out the ocean that way. Remember, radiation are not harmful towards us, but it will be harmful to see creatures. As of right now when nothing has occurred, I hope it will stay that way keeping the ocean clean and healthy.

EMarie Espiritu

I agree that radiation is bad for the ocean. Not only for the wild life like fish and other oceanic creatures but also for the humans. Humans like to do many water activities like : jet skiing, swimming, fishing etc and knowing that the water isn’t safe makes it hard for people to do that. Radiation can cause many types of diseases, cancer and people can also die from radiation. It is also known that there are many fish dying in seas and oceans. Santa Cruz is a really known place in California. Many kids and families like to go there to swim and have a good time but knowing that stuff is in the water is very harmful.

Lauren Ramos

I agree with Ella. Not only is the radiation bad for sea creatures, it also impacts on people who love to do water activities. Like what Ella stated, many people really do a lot of activities including Jet skiing, fishing, and swimming. This type of radiation could affect many people that may cause them cancer. Including that many people eat seafood. The radiation in the water could poison the sea animals. This also may cause a person to receive a disease from eating the fish.

Alejandro Gutierrez

If cesium has been in the water since the 1950’s what is the danger of fukushima’s radiation coming to the coast? The increased amount may also increase the risk of some kind of disease. The arrival of the cesium may be even be harmless if there is a small amount. As of now we do not know exactly when and how much will arrive off the coast of California. Also, if cesium arrives and it poses a threat what can we do to avoid any kind of harm? Is there anything that scientists or even citizens can do to filter or clean the water? Is it possible for the radiation to arrive from the air and not the ocean? I think scientists should give the cesium to lab rats and observe if they get sick. If they do they should find a vaccine and a cure. Knowing there is a cure and a vaccine will make me feel saf

Tatiana

After reading this I agree radiation is bd for our ecosystem. If polonium-210 is already in the ocean then it’s already kind of bad. Isotope cesium-134 is also still in the ocean. Although it’s going away, there is still traces of it in the ocean. It shows there has been tests about this in the 1950s and the 1960s but what about all the years before that? This radioactive element has probably been around for even longer than the tests scientists have took. Instead of these scientists waiting until the radiation reaches California to do something, they should start trying to do something now & prevent it from causing any damage. The numbers are low right now, but once they start getting higher there is going to be a lot of conflict with the public media & the scientists studying this. Many people are going to argue with the fact on why they took so long to do something about this and waiting last minute. This may not affect us humans on earth, but we also need to think about the creatures under water and the affects that this radiation can cause to them. From my understanding of this article, scientists aren’t really thinking about the consequences the living things under water are going to have to face if they have to go through this huge radiation. These scientists are just acting upon themselves without a worry in the world about these fish, but instead of being so selfish they should atleast find out some more info about this kind of radiation and what they can do to not put these fish in life or death situation like that even though they’ll all be deceased at one point we should not put them to their extinction time now. -T.G.

lester lavaro

When the radiation comes to the US, i think that scientist would prepare for that instead of estimating the time of the radiation to come here. Being prepared for the worst is the best thing to do. In my opinion, we should stay away from the coasts. Other people would agree with me. I think they should. We should just stay safe. Instead of going to the beaches we should do something to protect ourselves. The radiation is bad. If its bad than we shouldn’t be near it. We are taught to stay away from harm. Scientists are smart. I think they made a pretty good discovery in this radiation so we can be prepared.

Hingle McCringleberry

I agree with you Lester although you did not meat the 12 to 14 sentence requirement. I agree with you saying that the scientists should prepare for the worst. But people will not want to stay away beach. The radiation is very bad for us but I think the only way people will stay away from the beaches is by making them off limits. Your comment was well thought out. You have to remember that only minuscule amounts of radiation has been detected. It also says “is clearly not an environmental or human radiological threat”. I don’t think we should fear this radiation. Instead we should just be more careful of where we go to the beach. I liked your comment. It made me think more about this problem. I think you getting too crazy. You need to remember this is miniscule.
-Gabriel Contreras

Andrea Montes de Oca

According to Buesseler “it’s not here yet” that’s a contradiction to the whole article between low levels of radiation in the ocean and “it not being here yet”. This is really confusing to me, the fact that it says one thing, then someone stated something completely different. In my opinion low levels of radiation isn’t that dangerous, but if we just sit here and do nothing, it will increase the levels and become more dangerous. This is serious when it comes to a humans health no matter what the article may say. For example, radiation can cause mutations and trouble in the DNA, plus it causes cancer. We already have enough cases of cancer in the United States to now have low levels that will most likely increase on the coast. I understand that we can’t stop this from happening, maybe we can create experiments and figure things out. Most importantly we should warn others so they can think twice before making a mistake instead of leaving them clueless and risk people getting sick. It’s better to find this out now than wait til later on when it’s a bigger issue. Obviously radiation is all around us, with the sun and we can’t do anything about it. But we can try to figure out a solution in this case. It may not be easy but it’s also not impossible.

ricardo verduzco

I feel like we should take advantage of the fact that the radiation hasn’t yet arived here in California. We should try our best to try to get it cleaned up. The radiation is not only gonna affect us but also the animals in the ocean and bay. If these animals become poisoned by the radiation then fisherman won’t be allowed to fish and if they are not able to fish, won’t be able to sell to the people or businesses. If they can’t sell these fish, squid, ect. they will go out of business. Not to mention that if someone does decide to fish the poisoned fish, they are only gonna poison themselves and the people that feed it to. This won’t be good for their health which will lead to sickness. Also, what about the people who swim or surf in these waters? Won’t they also get sick. The owners of beaches or docks would have to close their beaches or docks. The radiation from the water in the ocean and bay could also find its way into people’s homes. This would again cause sicknesses

Anthony Toribio

I agree with Ricardo, not only is it bad for humans, but animals too. Many sea creautres will suffer from this type of radiation. This may cause very bad water pollution from dead fishes. Not only bad for sea creatures, but for us humans too. I state this because us humans do water activities, as Ricardo stated. We do multiple water activites including: Swimming, jet ski, and scuba diving. This could Cause any human in contact with water to obtain a disease or cancer. So in all i believe we should celan up our water instead of infecting it. Like what Ricardo stated. Take advantage of this radiation.

Jose Mancillas

I feel like they state the issue with the radioactive Isotope. but then try to make it less threating by stating it has been her since 1950. And that it is only in miniscule amounts. But how long till these small amounts get bigger and bigger. Will they then have an environmental effect and a effect on our health. I suppose we can feel safe for now .and we can not worry about it for now but the time will come when we are exposed to more radiation. Well see what will happen then

Bryan Herrera

In the article that radiation from Japan will sooner or later affect California’s beaches,Scientist have found radioactive isotopes cesium in Canada. People are worried of cesium from Fukushima will possibly come to California .Scientist are trying to find ways to “zero it ” when it starts getting to California. Which means that they will try to remove any cesium from Californian oceans. But still they are saying that it has no threat to us.Why are they letting these things happen ? Can they contain this radioactive stuff from getting to California. Even if it is no threat right now can it be a big threat later ? Scientists state that radioactivity has been in the ocean since 1950’s -1960’s because of the nuclear weapon tests they have In the west coast ocean water for radioactivity. Buesseler a scientist said that its is not yet in California oceans. He says it can be dangerous and as of right now Buesseler is the only scientist thats says that radioactivity can be a threat to our state.I think that if we don’t do something now it can be a problem later so we should take care of it now.

Jose Mancillas

I dont like you

Miguel Baez

I feel the same way any other person would, it’s scary to think that you are exposing your body to these harmful chemicals, especially in our beaches. This chemical breakout is going to affect us alot. Not just by the ocean but our food supply.most of us like to eat seafood but with this chemical breakout, the dangers of the chemical is going to harm the fish and are going to make it not eadable. Many of our fish from the sea are at a high chance of dieing from the chemical that has spreaded in our ocean. The breakout is going to mess up the eco system and kill fish, Scientist are doing what they can to prevent the Fukushima radiation to spread through our oceans. I hope that scientists will treat the oceans and clean up the oceans as soon as possible before this becomes a bigger threat.

Joni Saizan

I didn’t really read this. I don’t understand what’s going on. But I’m just going to disagree. I disagree because just about everyone else is agreeing. I’m going against the flow. But since I see this article says something is safe it probably might be safe. Hey, there might be a chance it’s not but these people are smart. Trust them. Japan isn’t smart. They let something bad happen even if it was an accident. They weren’t safe enough. Stupid power plants, we shouldn’t have them. The end.

Meeka Cayabyab

The whole situation is dangerous. People should take this very serious. Scientists should be prepared for it. Radiation is affecting all human beings around. Humans should understand what radiation is also doing to them. If people don’t take this seriously, there would be serious consequences. Many people could get hurt. Radiation causes many disease. These disease’s include cancers. People should investigate these radiations to prevent this. I think we should fix everything. That way, we can prevent future problems.

Ricardo Nol

There is a huge problem in japan!!!I think that the Japanese people should be more careful on what they do .first,they made a disaster on the ocean killing many sea creatures.second ,they can cause the death of many people killing them with cancer by the radiation. people cant fish on the sea anymore because the sea is polluted with other substances .how did this incident happen ?is japan tring to affect the whole world or was it an accident . birds that eat the fishes that rest in the sea can carry radiation to the humans .I think that they should be more careful in not letting this happen again .if this supliment comes to the coast of california it can affect the people in the beach beca use when they go inside the water they already have the radiation surrounded in them.the people are in danger if this supliment continues to spread .the whole world can be in danger and lets hope it doesent spread .they should clean this before it affects other countries .if we stop the spreading of this supliment we will be safer and cleaner.

Leonel ochoa

My reaction to this article is that I think that when the radiation arrives at the coasts, scientists will be prepared for it. In my opinion if radiation is bad I think we should stay away from it instead of going near it. We had been taught by our parents and our teachers to always stay away from anything that can harm us. We should just try to stay safe and try not going to the beaches instead we should do something else(plus who would want to go to the beach when its cold –.–). Right now scientists say that it won’t affect us because its at low level, But what if it rises, would it affect us then?)I think scientists are smart in doing this discovery and informing us about this.

Mirka Pelayo

Radiation is claimed to not be dangerous when it clearly is to humans as well as animals. It can lead to serious diseases. The beach is a common place for people to go to. Now as a result of radiation, the beach won’t be as safe. These unseen chemicals are also affecting our food supply such as in seafood. It’s better to take action now, rather than later when it’ll be too late.

myles beyene

I do not think everything is safe. They said that they have already found some radioactivity in Canada. Our coast line an be already contaminated. We pollute our oceans as it is right now with all the dumping we do. This can mean that the fish will be killed off and fisherman can possible lose their job. People will eventually start getting sick from eating fish that have been living in our polluted oceans if we just sit back and do nothing. The earth is 70% water and we should keeps our ocean clean the same way we clean or roads. I also feel that the scientist haven’t told us everything so that people will not being to freak out. I do hope that they find a solution for this problem. The longer we wait the more worse our oceans will get. Hopefully they are right about our ocean being safe. We need to prtect our sea llife as well as ourselves.

Ever Galvez

I personally think saying” It’s not harmful to humans because of the small radiation level” will help us out, everyone will hit panic mode once it hits California. Personally I don’t like sea food so it probably won’t affect me or harm in some ways like others. Hearing that the radiation might hit us by spring is awful and what I think is that everyone should do is start doing something about it before something goes wrong/bad. I understand that its a low level of radiation but radiation will affect something or someone. What will happen to the sea animals? Are they going to die because of the radiation. Does it affect them? In what ways and how can we help them to prevent it. Doing everything that we can will make a change and hopefully the radiation doesn’t affect anyone or anything.

jennifer quiroz

So many people go to the beach and do many activities in the shore. Its not safe for people to be exposed to the radiation.I believe that they should do something about it now.Even if its “safe” .I think people should take precautions before its to late.This issue is very important because it doesn’t only affect us.It also affects the sea creatures that live in the coast.If we let the radiation reach our coast the sea life will be exposed to it.
If the fish are exposed they could get some type of mutation and affect us too because we consume them.In conclusion the issue should be taken care of now.Its better to be safe than sorry.I hope the scientists are right and if there wrong i hope they do something about it now. so they can keep are oceans clean and our sea life healthy.

April Magbual

After this article about the radiation from the Fukushima powerplant in Japan I learned a lot how it can affect other countries now. I agree that scientists should test samples and to try if it reached the area but using dangerous chemicals can cause a lot of problems. But using living things and our oceans as a model is not a good idea especially sea animals because they have the right to live too. People go to the beach and fishing . If scientist test our ocean then it would be very dangerous for us. Radiation can cause health problems especially cancer.They can easily go deep inside the human body damaging cells. Scientist should think about the conflicts if they test radiation on living things.

Jposse32@yahoo.com

This article talks about how a nuclear power plant was planted accidentally in Japan in 2011. Now it is traveling through the ocean to the California coast. In my opinion I think that we shouldn’t worry too much about this right now because scientists are not able to test the level of radioactive power until it gets here in the spring. However, scientists know that it is at lower levels than naturally occurring radiation that is already in the ocean right now. Since it is at such low levels it isn’t an environmental radioactive health problem. This means it isn’t life threatening to us, so I don’t think anyone should stress too much about this until scientists find out more information about its radioactive power.
– Jeremiah Leatiota

Martin Miranda

This is a very good article it really explains alot.it’s crazy that after all those years it still isn’t here.and I see a lot of people enjoying the beach.and they don’t have no clue what could be coming.they could be getting cancer,or other things.how do the scientists know if or when it will be here.how safe are the people now or in the future.then people are declaring things safe.I wouldn’t be so sure about that it could come soon. How are people taking this into caution .what is that authors opinion of this.

Luis Avalos

My reaction to this article after i read it was that the radiation that is getting to the coast of california can be harmful. It can be harmful because its been killing fishes and if it could kill fishes it could probably kill humans too. While i was reading the article i realized that there is two different models. That means that there two different of levels. Something the scientist could do is do more research on the radiation to try to stop it. They need to try to stop it because it be harmful on the sea animals and maybe on humans. With some of the resrarch that the scientist have done they predict that the radiation will get to the coast by spring. I agree with the other comments because the radiation could cause a lot of harm in the ocean and the sea animals in the ocean. Anotger why agree is because the radiation could probably cause problems on the humans too. I hope after reading this article tge scientist could do something to stop the radiation because it could be harmful.

yesenia galvez

knowing that there’s radiation in the ocean people should be aware about being near California coast even though they say that its “safe” one cant know if the levels of the radiation can increase and be harmful to us or any animals.Most people their daily activities near the water and should know whats in the water to avoid chemicals that can be dangerous. What would happen if the levels of radiation did increase? Most likely everyone would be more cautious when wanting to go to the beach or any water that has radiation.The radiation in the water can harm the animals and get mutated such as fish or other sea animals that most people eat that’s when it can start affecting us. Scientist testing the water want to see how much of the radiation came form the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident and how much will it reach to our coast. Hopefully the levels of the radiation to font increase and having it to affect anything.

Vanessa Urgel

I agree with everyone here because no one or living thing should fall under this radiation. This nuclear power plants affect the environment and the animals in them. In this case many sea life is affected by this radation. It could kill them off or cause harm to us human beings. When we consume these creatures we will be absorbing the radiation. Then it could cause cancer or other effects. So in my opinion power plants that uses nucluer substances shouldn’t be allowed to function by habited areas and or areas life sources.

Natasha Manithep

The fukushima radiation can affect sea life and humans. Scientists state that the levels of radiation are low enough that it can’t harm us. The water has been tested but the fish and other sea creatures need to be tested too. In California, people like to spend time at the beach and the radiation levels can increase as time goes on. Also the radiation can affect our food supply of seafood. The fish can become endangered or mutated. The supply of food is already limited because of the drought and farmers not having enough water to water their crops. If the levels of radiation increase in the ocean, people are likely not going to go to the beach anymore. Another thing is that price of seafood will rise. How would you feel about eating fish full of radiation? Radiation can cause all different types of illnesses. I think the scientists need to test everything in the ocean rather than just the water itself.

Mily Hernandez

I agree that the radiation in the ocean is very dangerous and detrimental to those who are on the California coast. And I feel that we should be cautious about it. No matter how small the amount is, any amount of radiation is deadly overtime. These scientists shouldn’t just over look it. They should be acting on it daily and finding ways on how to solve this solution. So that we as humans don’t get affected by the radiation. Or especially the sea creatures because they are being exposed to it much more than we are. Also, we consume these sea creatures that are going to be like poison to us once the radiation reaches our coasts. So either way we all will be affected by Japan’s accident with their nuclear power plant. Which is why I feel that scientist should proceed in doing these tests. I mean who knows maybe they’ll be able to find out exactly when the radiation will hit our waters. And along the way they may just find out different ways on how to make the radiation not affect us and the sea creatures as much. Or maybe not at all.

Author

Molly Samuel

Molly Samuel joined KQED as an intern in 2007, and since then has worked here as a reporter, producer, director and blogger. Before becoming KQED Science’s Multimedia Producer, she was a producer for Climate Watch. Molly has also reported for NPR, KALW and High Country News, and has produced audio stories for The Encyclopedia of Life and the Oakland Museum of California. She was a fellow with the Middlebury Fellowships in Environmental Journalism and a journalist-in-residence at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. Molly has a degree in Ancient Greek from Oberlin College and is a co-founder of the record label True Panther Sounds.

Support of KQED Science is provided by HopeLab, S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, The Vadasz Family Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.